Visionaries, Innovators and Overachievers
50 Years of Achieving the Extraordinary
Fifty years ago, the founders of the University of California, San Diego had one criterion for the campus: It must be distinctive. Since then, UC San Diego has accomplished the extraordinary in education, research and innovation. As the university approaches its 50th birthday, UC San Diego continues to gain prestigious recognitions including named 7th best public university in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, ranked among the nation's top 50 "Best Value" public universities by The Princeton Review's annual college guide and recognized as 1st in the nation by the Washington Monthly, based on the positive impact the university has had on the country. More

Students Swap Surfboards for Shovels
in Response to Chancellor's Call to Service
Campus kicks off Volunteer50 initiative at ‘Meet the Beach’ Welcome Week event
A record 3,000 UC San Diego students were playing sand soccer or beach volleyball, taking surf lessons or simply sunning themselves near the Scripps Pier at La Jolla Shores, as part of Meet the Beach, a popular Welcome Week event held Saturday. Then Chancellor Marye Anne Fox came on the public announcement system that had so far been broadcasting songs. She was there to kick off Volunteer50, an initiative that challenges all students, faculty, staff, alumni and university friends to perform 50 hours of volunteer service from September 2010 through June 2011. More

Students Rally for New Season of Sports and 50th Anniversary Celebrations at Annual Triton Power Hour
A crowd of cheering freshmen and transfer students poured into RIMAC Arena on Sept. 20 to kick off the Fall 2010 athletics season with the annual Triton Power Hour pep rally. A high-energy introduction to athletics at UC San Diego, the rally was filled with spirited competitions, prizes, performances and an appearance by King Triton. The rally also offered a preview of the upcoming celebration marking the university's milestone 50th Anniversary, with events throughout the year to commemorate the campus' unique history and extraordinary achievements. More

Students Lift Voices to Tell Stories of
Overcoming Challenges in Search of Community
The power of community was the message delivered Sept. 20 at "Triton Voices: Diversity and Community at UC San Diego," a Welcome Week program that featured four students from diverse backgrounds who shared their personal stories of how they made connections on campus to overcome obstacles and find a community. More

Students Go Green, Save Money and
Get Healthy Returning Back to School
As UC San Diego turns 50, the campus welcomed an estimated 3,950 incoming freshmen and record 2,600 transfer students for the first day of classes, Thursday. UCSD's 29,000 students, including this year's new class, can look forward to several new campus programs, resources and facilities that will help them save money, reduce their carbon footprint and live a healthier lifestyle. More

Childhood Viral Infection May Be a Cause of Obesity
The emerging idea that obesity may have an infectious origin gets new support in a cross-sectional study by School of Medicine researchers who found that children exposed to a particular strain of adenovirus were significantly more likely to be obese. More

The Friendly Way to Catch the Flu
Your friends are probably more popular than you are. And this "friendship paradox" may help predict the spread of infectious disease. Nicholas Christakis, professor of medicine, medical sociology and sociology at Harvard University, and James Fowler, professor of medical genetics and political science at UC San Diego, used the paradox to study the 2009 flu epidemic among 744 students. The findings, the researchers say, point to a novel method for early detection of contagious outbreaks. More

UC San Diego Named 32nd Best
Universityin World by Times Higher Education
As UC San Diego prepares to launch its milestone 50th Anniversary celebration, the campus added another accolade — ranked the 32nd best university in the world, according to Times Higher Education. For the first time, the London-based higher education magazine partnered with Thomson Reuters for the "World Universities Rankings 2010," which recognized UC San Diego for its learning environment, ground-breaking research and economic impact. More

Scripps and Trius Team Up to Develop New
Antibiotics with U.S. Department of Defense Grant
In an effort to tap into the vast potential of the oceans as a source for novel medical treatments, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a part of the Department of Defense, has awarded San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics, Inc. a four-and-a-half year contract worth up to $29.5 million to collaborate with UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography for the development of novel antibiotics directed against microorganisms that cause serious infections. More

Rita and Richard Atkinson, Former
UC President, Give $5.7 Million to UC San Diego
Richard Atkinson — former president of the ten-campus University of California system and chancellor at UC San Diego from 1980 to 1995 — has designated, with his wife Rita, $5.7 million to support fellowships for graduate students at UC San Diego. The gift represents the largest gift to date for "Invent the Future: The UC San Diego Student Support Campaign," an initiative to raise $50 million for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships at the university. More